ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book discusses why pluralism should be a feature of economics and why it is in general society’s interest to promote it. Economists perceive providing policy advice as part of their job description. The book reviews the history of economics and discusses the current state of the economics debate. Simple analyses of RePEc, the largest online repository of economic publications, allow characterizing the previous statement, that economics lacks a wide and fair debate. The book focuses on a specific aspect of the social organization of economics as a scientific profession: research evaluation and its impact on the scientific development of economics. It concludes with some reflections on whether formalized and comprehensive systems are necessary, and if they are, which principles should govern the methods of evaluation in economics.
